Friday, September 22, 2006

Today is our 27th anniversary. We met in 1974 when I was 16 and Eric was 18. We dated for five years, and finally married in 1979, then waited another seven years before we had Web, with Riley following two years later. It's been a wonderful 32 years of friendship and love.

Eric is a charming, funny, gentle and kind man with a killer smile and a sense of humor that keeps me laughing. He's been my best friend since the day we met - he knows everything about me and all my deepest thoughts. Though we have the bonds of friendship, love, marriage and parenthood that tie us together, most of all, he's the person I want to hang out with, and the guy I want to be holding my hand when I totter through the nursing home. He's not perfect - nor am I. We are both normal people who mess up on a regular basis, who sometimes struggle to find our way, who get tired and cranky and irritable. The good thing is that no matter what, the love lies just under the surface and that current of love runs through our daily lives and carries us through the rough patches. We've had a couple of low points in our time together, once so low I'd call it an abyss, but we've managed to find our way out each time. We complement each other, we ground each other and most of all, we love each other.

We've been married a long time. 27 years is hard to believe. I look at my parents - 51 years - and I find myself daydreaming about the day we celebrate 50 years. What do the next 23 years hold for us? Where will we be in 2029? I'll be 71 years old, Eric will be 73. Will we still be running? At 71, will I finally be taking my age group - as 1st of one? Who will our boys be with? Will there be grandchildren? Will we be retired or will we still be working? Will we still love each other? What will I look like at the age - will my hair be as white as my Mom's? Will both my boys be bald like my brothers? Will Eric's red hair have faded away to baldness? I wonder...

This has been a taper week. I followed up all the weekend running with rest and Pilates on Monday, 4.2 miles Tuesday, 3.1 on Wednesday, and 3 yesterday. Rest and Pilates today, then 10 miles tomorrow, 4 or 5 on Sunday, then probably 3 on Tuesday/Thursday next week with an extra day of rest on Wednesday. And then...it's off to Portland!